ST. PAUL — Parts of the collapsed Interstate 35W Bridge were being turned over Thursday to the Minnesota Historical Society for eventual public viewing.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is transferring four pieces to a Historical Society storage facility in St. Paul. Two of those pieces are gusset plates that investigators determined gave way under the road surface, leading to the downtown Minneapolis bridge’s failure six years ago.

Also included are two large beams.

Senior curator Adam Schersaid the Historical Society felt the plates “were the most historical pieces (and) probably in many ways the missing pieces to telling this story.”

“They really tell the story in the most tangible way of the collapse itself, especially since we have the gusset plates,” Scher said.